Hold me now
by CUtopia
Summary: How the episode "Oh Danny Boy" could have been if it had been Nikki who lead the boarding party, including all the aftermaths...
1. Chapter 1

So, this is was the idea of ALIMOO1971 and she also is the co-reader and gives some advise on it – thank you for sharing this idea with me! :)

I hope you all like it and leave me/us some reviews :)

Alternate Universe → ET is still alive and is serving on the "Melbourne"

* * *

Peter Tomaszewski or Buffer, how everyone called him, had had a nice, quiet morning so far. After he had been able to sleep relatively long and then fetch a little snack and coffee from the galley, he was now on the bridge for his watch. No one had disturbed this peace – which was something like a miracle on a ship where 2Dads was serving. He had expected the technician to suddenly jump into his cabin, in the galley or on the bridge and to annoy him with some banalities, but nothing like this had happened to him yet. This had lead him to be in a real good mood and he really enjoyed this early morning.

He just sipped on his coffee and watched the beautiful sunrise as he saw and heard Nikki coming up the stairs to the bridge. A look on his watch told him that she was a twenty minutes early for taking over the watch duty from him, but this was nothing to be concerned about, sometimes people just couldn´t sleep after having a two week shore leave. He was happy to see her as they did not have a chance to talk to each other since they left Cairns yesterday.

"Hey, wonderful morning, isn´t it, Nav?", he smiled. "How was your shore leave?"

He had expected her to return his smile and tell him about her weekend with ET with whom she was engaged. After he had been injured during a diving tour he had not been able to work, his position had been filled by 2Dads and now ET was serving on the "HMAS Melbourne", making it possible for Nikki and him to continue their relationship. She had been more then happy in the last months, but the look on her face was the complete opposite. Her eyes were a bit red, she looked exhausted and her gaze was dark, sad and also a bit angry. When she heard his question, her eyes filled with tears and he felt his heart stopping for a second.

"How about the description 'awful'?!", she whispered under her breath as she tried to hold back some sobs and Buffer immediately had a bad feeling in his stomach, being concerned as he cared a lot about her.

Nikki made no effort to step away as he closed the short distance between them with two big steps and gently pulled her into a embrace. His caring had good and bad sides – sometimes she just felt as if he treated her like a piece of china, but on the other hand she had always somebody to talk with and regarding the events that had occurred to her, she really needed him as a friend.

"What do you mean 'awful'? I thought you and ET had planned to travel down to Sydney for some sightseeing!"

Nikki buried her face into his shoulder and he felt how her body started to shake from short sobs.

"We... we broke up..."

"Oh, Nikki..."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and he embraced her a little bit tighter before she continued:"He slept with his ex-girlfriend and she is pregnant, just like two years ago and... he decided to support her as she want´s to keep it this time... He swore a thousand times that it happened when he was drunk, but... I just couldn´t stay with him, he showed me that he did not change, he just covered his affairs more studious!"

Buffer could feel how the anger started to boil in his stomach. He had warned ET some years ago that he would kill him if he would ever hurt Nikki. His hands clenched to fists and he had to control himself to not start to scream on the absent man. How could have ET dared to hurt his... to hurt Nav, just as she had thought everything was nice in their relationship and that they would marry, having a family...

"This bastard!", he hissed after he calmed down a little bit. "Nav, the next time I see him I will punch him so hard that he won´t be able to walk for at least a week!"

A small smile stole it´s way to Nikki´s lips. Buffer had always been protective of her and right now she found his attitude kind of sweet. She looked up into his eyes and answered:"Don´t worry, Buff, I already gave him a huge black eye! After I threw the engagement ring at him. Hit him in the stomach."

"Good girl!", Buffer grinned and stroke through her hair. She thankfully leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, listening to his heartbeat and his calm voice as he continued to talk:"Don´t worry about being alone, Nav. You still got me..."

He pinched together his whole face as he realized what he had just said and hurried to add:"I mean, you got me, Swain, Charge... Well, of course Swaino is married and Charge is old enough to be your father... - but don´t tell him that I said this!"

Nikki could not stop herself from laughing and wrapped her arms around Buffer. He smiled softly as she giggled against his chest and kissed the top of her head. It felt good to make her feel better, even for this small moment. Of course he knew that she would need some time to heal her broken heart, but Nikki was a strong independent woman and he was optimistic that she would get over this scumbag ET. Even if ET was his friend, Buffer could not find anything positive about his behavior right now and he hoped that Josh would not make any attempt to get her back and let Nikki be.

"Remember, I will always be there for you!", Buffer reassured her once again.

* * *

Nikki and Pete did not knew that they were observed. 2Dads had a wide, cheesy grin on his face as he watched the navigator and the bosun sharing a deep embrace. He stood on the stairs to the bridge, unnoticed by the two sailors. He thought about just walking in and making some comments, but then he decided he should go away – maybe he could use this against them at another point. He just quietly walked down again, as Mike came towards him.

"Oh, good morning, boss!", 2Dads said a bit louder than usual to make sure that Nikki and Buffer heard him and indeed they were heading to their places when 2Dads and Mike entered the bridge.

"Morning everyone, hope you all had a good night!"

"Yes Sir and we were just enjoying this beautiful sunrise!", Buffer explained while Nikki dried her cheeks. Mike took his usual seat in the commanding chair and nodded at them, then he turned to his navigator:"Nav, the X is not feeling well today, Swain has decided she should stay in bed for today, so I want you to lead the boarding parties today!"

"Ok, boss. That´s definitely something I need today!", Nikki answered with a attacking look on her face what made Buffer smile to himself. That was his Nav, a fighter and ET would never get her down so easy.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again, thank you to Alimoo for your advice!

I hope you all enjoy the chapter! :)

* * *

The RHIB raced over the ocean and made little jumps when it hit a wave, little sprays of water coming down over the boarding crew. Nikki stood next to Buffer and the helmsman, tightly holding on to the handle in front of her. They were about to board a foreign fishing vessel that was disobeying their order to stop for a control, so they had to make it the more aggressive way.

It was not the first time for Nikki to be the leading boarding officer, she had to be ready for actions as she had aims to become Executive Officer later on, but she was still nervous. She knew that Kate often felt the same way, even with all her experience, however this knowledge did help her little. They were reaching the vessels backboard rear side and the trained sailors were on the ship within a few seconds with a small jumps over the railing. They scanned the boat deck and as the first members of the fishing crew came to their view, they identified themselves as navy personnel and ordered them all to approach the boat deck. As they had gathered quickly, impressed by the presence of the soldiers, Nikki stepped a little bit forward and asked:"Who is the master of this vessel?"

One of the Asian-looking men raised his arm and she ordered him to come out of the line what he immediately did, always under the watchful eyes of the sailors.

"Sir, we have permission to stop and search vessels in this area to act against smuggling and other illegal actions!", Nikki said with a strong tone in her voice, making her shoulders more broad. That was how she had learned to act: calm, authoritarian and self-confident. But the captain of the ship did not look very impressed, a angry look was on his face as he heard that they wanted to search his boat.

"By who?!", he asked aggressively and she had to gather herself within a second and hide her tension from this man.

"By your government, Sir!"

She wanted to hand him the sheet of paper with the declaration under which they were acting, but before she could react she saw him coming forward, pushing her so hard that she nearly feel while stumbling backwards.

Buffer´s heart nearly stopped as he saw Nikki tripping and twisting at the same time and he did not think another second before he stepped forward to catch Nikki. He wrapped his arms around her as she hit his chest with hers, but her momentum was to much for him to compensate and he let out a hard breath as his spine hit the railing, pushed into it by Nikki´s weight. The only reason why they not both went overboard was that he was able to grab a poll that gave him support. 2Dads, Spider and Swain brought the skipper under their control and held back the other fishermen, while Buffer helped Nikki back on her feet, still having a grip on her upper arms, a surprised and shocked look had captured her eyes.

"Everything alright, Nav?", he asked her and she could hear the worry in his voice, so she gave him a quick smile and nodded. They looked deeply in each others eyes for a few seconds, then they realized where they were and took a step away from each other. Nikki cleared her throat and shoved her helmet back in place, then she murmured:"Thank you, Buff!"

As she turned, she could see some dopey grins on the faces of the other sailors and if she had not been on duty, she would have blushed, but right now she was not willing to accept any childish comments.

"Anything wrong, sailors?!", she asked with some anger in her voice and as they shook their heads, she nodded and added:"Good! Then search the boat!"

"Yes, M´am", Spider chuckled and as he turned his back on her, Nikki exchanged a quick look with Buffer, knowing that he would definitely feel the same urge like her right now: the one of kicking Spiders ass. But unfortunately, this was not an option that was open to them.

* * *

Half an hour later the boarding crew was back on the Hammersley. They had found a lot of explosives while they had searched the boat and they had immediately arrested the whole crew to transfer them to the local authorities. Everybody was taking off their life vests and radios and secured their weapons. Nikki still felt the adrenaline in her veins but she also tried to figure out the suppose of the explosives. She felt Buffers eyes on her and she met his look as she handed him her gear. It was easy to tell that he was extremely worried about her, but she also was concerned about him as he had hit his back pretty hard. A small smile from him ensured her that he was okay and Nikki just wanted to return it as she remembered that 2Dads and Spider were still with them, once again grinning over their whole faces. Nikki immediately broke the eye contact and turned around as the CO entered.  
"Okay Nav, report please!"

"We found enough explosives to blow up a larger ship, the fishermen are not really cooperating with us, the skipper was more then aggressive. There was no evidence that showed us where the explosives were supposed to be delivered to."

"Thanks Nav, the local police will take over the case. Good work from everyone!"

Mike nodded at his sailors and left while Buffer closed the lockers that held the weapons and radios. Nikki signed the operation protocol and handed it to him, avoiding his eyes this time.


	3. Chapter 3

So, here is the next chapter and I would like to thank everyone who left their reviews :) And also, once again, Alimoo for correcting and idea-sharing! :)

Hope you all enjoy it, it is longer today :)

* * *

It was early evening when the Hammersley reached the foreign port. Mike had given the crew the permission for a free evening and nearly everybody wanted to take this opportunity. Buffer, Swain, Charge, RO, Bomber, Spider and 2Dads were ready to leave and approached the quarter deck were Nikki was standing, finishing a phone call with one of her brothers. Buffer could not prevent himself from staring at her, as she just looked stunning in her white dress with light blue flowers on it, the skirt of it barely covering her mid-thigh. She was wearing sandals with heels and her brown hair was a little bit curly as she had wore it in a braid the whole day. He had to force himself to break the gaze he had on her and he followed the other sailors. As they approached the gangway Nikki put her cellphone into her bag and smiled at her fellow sailors.

"You coming with us, Nav?", Buffer asked her without recognizing the hopeful tone in his voice that caused some eyebrows to go up, but they both did not notice that, just like the small bump in the side and the grin that 2Dads gave Spider.

"Yes, of course! I am not the person to miss a party!", Nikki answered and hooked herself in between Buffer and Charge. "Let´s go, boys, I am thirsty like hell."

"Ya heard the lady!", Buffer shouted and Bomber let herself escape a little scream of excitement as it had been some time since the last shore leave where the whole "gang" was able to hit the bars.

* * *

"Another round, come on!", 2Dads shouted and grabbed the bottle of tequila that was standing in front of him to refill the glasses of his comrades to take another shot. Everyone, even RO, joined the electronics technician and took their full glasses.

"Cheers!"

Everyone downed their drinks after licking the salt off the backs of their hands and hurried to bite the slices of lime. Robert coughed hard as the alcohol burned in his throat and Nikki patted his back roughly to help him to get back his breath while she blurted:"Slowly mate, nothing for little girls!"

"What is Spider doing here then?", Bomber laughed and the two women exchanged a high five while Spider gave them a sour look. 2Dads turned to Buffer and asked:"So, you and Nav on this fishing vessel – ya held her, am I right!"

Nikki tilted her head to look past Bomber and Spider said:"I call that the catching of the day!"

"What´s your opinion, Swaino?", 2Dads asked his comrade, registering Buffers dark look with a challenging grin. Swain took a sip of his beer, then answered slowly while stepping away from Buffer:"Embrace. Definitely a embrace!"

Everyone except Nikki and Pete started to laugh, the navigator shook her head while Buffer crossed his arms in front of his muscular chest, already thinking about a way to pay 2Dads back. The technician decided to stop his teasing for another round of shots.

"Hey folks, did anyone of you ever did a body shot?"

"Body shot?", Spider asked curiously while he grabbed the salt shaker, listening to 2Dads' explanation:"You lick the salt off somebody's neck, drink the tequila and eat the lime from the persons gut!"

"We will go dancing!", Nikki and Bomber said quickly in synchronicity and left their bar stools to head to the dance floor. Some of the boys looked after them, then Spider turned to Buffer and asked:"I bet you would like to do a body shot with Nav, Buff!"

Buffer gave him a warning look and answered:"And I bet you want to clean every toilet with your own toothbrush, Spi!"

* * *

A hour later the group had split up a little bit. 2Dads was playing poker with some locals, Robert was sitting at the bar with Charge, who had become the temporary barkeeper, and Swain, while Nikki and Bomber were dancing once again. Buffer and Spider were sitting on a round table, Spider drinking some of the cocktails that Charge had mixed for them. Pete had a hard time to hide the looks he shot at Nikki from time to time when he took a sip from his glass of whiskey. It made him happy to see how frisky and light-hearted she looked right now, jumping and singing with Bomber to the song that was played right now, raising her hands in the air and closing her eyes to float only with the rhythm of the music.

"Hey Spider... what do ya think about tattoos?", he asked, foremost to get himself to other thoughts then the one of Nikki. "You can get yourself one tonight, my friend Pauly has his shop just a few streets away. He made this one."

He turned his leg and pulled up his jeans so Spider could see the backside of his lower leg where a woman had her place. Spider bend forward to take a look on it and started to grin, then he said:"Hey, that looks like Nav with blonde hair, Buffer!"

Buffer left this comment unnoticed as he was a bit sick of Spiders childish remarks. This guy had definitely spent to much time with 2Dads and he swore himself that he would be doing something about this, but not tonight. He had plans to pay his mate Pauly a little visit for another tattoo and wanted to take Spider with him. But first, he wanted another tequila, so Spider and he got up and went to the bar. Just as they had taken their seats and prepared for their drinks, Nikki and Bomber came back from the dance floor, both lacking a bit of air, but they were still laughing as Bomber sat down and took a sip from her guava mojo while Nikki slung one arm around Buffers shoulder, slightly bumping into Buffers side as she lacked a bit of balance because of the exhaustion and the alcohol.

"Where have you been?", Bomber asked Swain and took a deep breath. Nikki continued with a light smile:"Yeah, we´ve been waiting for you to come for a dance!"

"I am not dancing!", Buffer grinned at her and drank his tequila, then he waved Spider and raised. "See ya, folks!"

"Where are they going?", Bomber asked and Charge grinned:"Getting matching tattoos!"

They laughed and the girls finished their drinks before Nikki said:"I think it´s time to go now... definitely time to go..."

"It will be a pleasure for us to escort the young ladies back to the ship!", Swain smiled and they payed for their drinks. When they were ready to go, Nikki asked:"What about the others?"

"2Dads seems to want to spent the whole night here and Ro...", Swain explained and pointed down next to the staircase that they were climbing up. "Well, Robert is tasting some of the local delicacies!"

"We should not disturb him then!", Bomber grinned and they left the bar, heading to the harbor where the Hammersley was docked.

* * *

"Spider, don´t ya even think of something like a dolphin or fairies... Pauly, you can do it free-handed... Wake me when you´re done, mate...", Buffer murmured and leaned forward on the chair he was sitting on, closing his eyes and quickly he was snoring peacefully while Pauly started with his work. Spider entered the room with 100 bucks in his right hand, grinning innocently at the tattoo artist.

* * *

"Come in!", Kate whispered, answering to the knock at the door of her cabin. Mike came in and sat down on the edge of her rack, giving her a cheerful smile.

"How are you, Kate?"

His Executive Officer coughed loudly, then she said with a strained, raspy voice:"Could be worse... Nav got me a brew before she left... Swain said that I luckily have no fever... Still feeling like I need to vomit."

She took a small careful sip from the mug that was standing on a improvised nightstand next to her rack and Mike had to chuckle as she asked:"Was Nav doing a good job out there? Did everything go well?"

"Yes, don´t worry, the ship is also floating without you!"

He knew that Kate was such a workaholic that the day she had to lie in her rack because she had managed to get sick while being on shore leave, had had to be pure torture for her, hearing the call for the boarding party and being tied to the bed. But Mike also hoped that she realized that there was no other option for her – she was to weak to be on the bridge as she had collapsed on her way to her watch,so there was no thinking of a boarding party.

"Now I am disappointed!", Kate murmured with a small laugh and stroke back her messy hair.

"You are doing a great job, Katie, but you need to let go for the next days, for your own health... and also for Nikki, it is a great opportunity for her to gather some more qualification!"

"I know..."

Kate shifted to lay on her side and pulled the blanket a little tighter around her. Mike gently squeezed her hand and smiled:"Well, I will leave you alone now, you need to get some sleep. Good night!"

"Night...Mike...", she whispered as he left and closed her eyes as she felt the exhaustion overwhelming her and dragging her into the dream lands, not sensing anymore how Mike placed a light kiss on her forehead.


	4. Chapter 4

I am sorry that you had to wait so long, I am in the middle of my A-level exams, so I don´t have that much time right now, but don´t worry, I will always try to continue as soon as possible!

I hope you enjoy this chapter, once again thanks to Alimoo! :) Oh, and of course thank you for your reviews, I am always delighted when I get one :)

* * *

"So, Spi, ya don´t wanna tell me what little picture ya got? Screw ya!", Buffer blurted as the two drunken sailors left Pauly´s tattoo shop and made their way back to the dock. Spider grinned and shook his head and answered:"Nah, Buff... I will show ya tomorrow..."

"I´m proud of ya, you´re not a mummys boy as I thought..."

"Thanks Buff... ahm, are ya sure we are taking the right way?", Spider wanted to know as they had turned into a alley that did not look like these trustworthy ways you walk down without doubting the possibility of leaving it safely.

"Looks different then on the way to the bar..."

"Yeah, like much different... We lost the way back...", Spider grumbled, but way immediately silenced as Buffer, who had walked past Spider who had stopped, gave him a small wave and pressed his back against the wall of the next house and as Spider was still wondering about his behavior, he heard voices coming from around the corner.

"Will this be enough?"

Buffer carefully took a look on the two men and saw how they carried around some boxes, taking them from a car and putting it into the back of a large van, but some pieces of what was in the next box fell to the floor as the bottom of it opened up. The two men hurried to pick it up and Buffer, who had the feeling that something important was going on here, pulled out his mobile phone and started to record what was going on.

"Do you really think this is going to be enough for the plan?", the one who had dropped his load asked once again and the other one grinned while he nodded.

"Yeah, good weapons and the men I hired are also the best. The Malu Intruder won´t be around any longer."

"And the navy?"

"The navy? Don´t worry mate, they won´t be a harm", one of the men said, taking another box from the car and already from this distance it was clear to see that the box was full with some orange cuboids, the same ones like these that had fallen out of the other box. "This government needs to learn the value of renewable energies."

Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting the ground disturbed the silence of the night and Buffer hurried to hide again as the men looked around to check their surroundings, then they seemed to see someone on the other side of the place where they had parked and started to run, obviously following the one who had caused the noise.

Buffer, suddenly feeling more then sober, turned to Spider and said:"I will take a quick look on what they carried around there, their talk sounded suspicious!"

Spider looked more then unsure, but he could not say anything before Buffer turned and walked to the abandoned vehicles. Spider cursed and followed his comrade as he also started to get curious.

"Look at this... who needs automatic weapons out here?", Buffer asked and started to make some photos with his mobile phone, while Spider had opened a flashlight app on his smart-phone to make everything more visible as they looked both into the car and the van.

"Ah, Buffer... this looks just like the SEMTEX we found on the fishing vessel this morning...", Spider murmured as he pointed on the box with the orange cuboids in it. "I don´t like this... Come on, take a picture of the license plates and then we leave, I don´t want to get caught by these men... Especially when I see this thing!"

Spider pointed at another box, lying beneath a pack of paper towels. It was full of cables, a green digital oblong and a metal casing and they also saw some of the SEMTEX again. Buffer hurried to take another picture.

"It is not activated yet. I guess they must be up for something bigger... Let´s go, mate...", Buffer answered as they walked back to the house where they had been hiding. Even though Spider felt a bit like a James Bond on a secret mission, he felt sick and worried about being caught. He was sure that these men were dangerous and he just did not wanted to have a personal meeting with them when he was drunk and unarmed. They passed the corner and soon found the right way back to the Hammersley, but they were both quiet while they walked, both thinking about the purpose of the explosives and the weapons.

* * *

Robert was feeling more then embarrassed as the police officers wrapped a blanket around his wet body and guided the radio operator, who was already wearing handcuffs, to their patrol car. The officers were not listening to him as he tried to explain what he had seen by the harbor, that he had to talk to his CO as he was sure that somebody would try to attack a navy ship and another ship named the Malu Intruder. He felt helpless when they had brought him to their precinct and arrested him in a cell, telling him to sleep out his inebriation and that he would be released when the bail for the damage had been paid. As he lay down on the small bed of the cell he felt overwhelmed by ideas and hypotheses concerning the two men and their plans. He could not believe that nobody was listening to him and that they thought he was to drunk to contact his ship properly. It was hard for him to lay down and remain idle when he knew that there was something dangerous going on. He knew that he would be having a hard time to prove his suspicions as he had no evidence, but he just had to try to convince the CO when he got to talk to him in the morning. Until then, he had enough time to think about every detail of the conversation so he would be able to sound as focused and reliable as always, even under the influence of alcohol.

* * *

Kate woke up from her light, uneasy sleep as she heard the cabin door being shut and somebody stumbling against the desk, muttering some curses. Nikki switched the bathroom light on and Kate saw how she slipped out of her heels, shoving some strands of her dark brown hair over her shoulder to have free sight. The navigator tottered forwards into the small bathroom and the noises from next door let her to the conclusion that she was definitely more than just a little drunken, the effect of the alcohol maybe reinforced by the fresh air from the walk back to the Hammersley. A few minutes later, as Nikki left the bathroom to get into bed, Kate started to talk:"How was the party?"

Nikki jumped, shocked by the sudden words from the XO of whom she had thought to be asleep.  
"Oh my gosh, don´t ya ever scare me like that again!", she hissed, sitting down on the edge of Kate´s bunk. "I thought you were asleep! It was pretty good, but maybe it was little bit to much of tequila and guava mojo!"

"Oh, how I wish that I had been there...", Kate murmured and drove her hand through her messy hair. Nikki swung her legs up, feeling her bare feet getting cold and put them under Kate´s warm blanket, just as Swain entered the cabin that was only lit by Kate´s bedside lamp.

"I hope I do not disturb you ladies. I just wanted to check if everything is okay with you, X!"

He smiled at his two comrades and Nikki got up, mumbling about grabbing a bottle of water from the galley. She left and Swain looked at the XO with a small smile, repeating his question:"So, all good?"

"Yeah, I will survive it... I am just a bit bored, lack of information..."

"Oh, if you want to hear some of the latest gossip, I do have something for you...", he grinned, waking Kate´s interest.

* * *

Just as Swain left, Nikki returned and quickly sidle herself under Kates warm blanket again. They sometimes just had these girlish moments where they sat on one bed, eating chocolate while gossiping.

"How where you doing today? I am sorry that I did not had the time to look after you, it was just a busy day", Nikki asked, feeling a little bit guilty about Kate being alone all day.

"Oh, it´s okay, Swain told me what happened and payed me some visits between his duties. He just told me that there had been some incident between Buffer and you?"

It was to dark to enable Nikki to see the bright smirk on Kate´s face, but she could hear it in her voice and felt herself blush slightly.

"It was nothing. He just prevented me from falling overboard, that was all."

"Oooh no, you won´t get away this easy, Nikki! Swain talked about something like a embrace and a long exchange of looks!"

Nikki pressed her lips together, not happy about the fact that Swain had told Kate about what had happened on the fishing vessel, as she herself did not think that there was any reason for the sailors to interpret more into Buffers rescue.

"Oh shut up, Kate. You should not listen to the gossip that the boys are telling you."

As Kate could not stop herself from giggling like a teenage girl, she immediately felt Nikkis elbow hitting her into the side and the navigator stood up, climbing up into her own rack. Kate knew that Nikki shared a close friendship with Buffer and that there was nothing behind his actions that one should worry about, making her teasing a little bit inappropriate, but she just needed some distraction right now and this had helped her a little bit. Nikki definitely was a little bit pissed right now, but in the morning it would be better again. What was actually concerning Kate was that, after what Swain had told her, 2Dads was around, making fun of the two and also the impression of Nikki´s and Buffers attitude towards each other that Swain had got during the incident. She always feared that she was missing something, that Nikki was not honest with her.


	5. Chapter 5

So, finally, here is the next chapter, and I am positive that you don´t have to wait so long for the next chapter as I am nearly finished with my final exams. Thanks to Alimoo once again!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and forgive me for the long time you had to wait! :)

* * *

The next morning aboard the Hammersley was very quite, as only the sailors who were having duties in the morning had left their racks, accompanied by a few ones that had only drunk a small amount of alcohol.

Bomber was already working in the galley, preparing everything for lunch after cleaning up the remains of the breakfast. She still felt a slight headache, but as Spider entered the galley she had to admit that she must have looked like the brightest summer day compared to her comrade´s appearance. Spider had deep traces under his eyes, showing the lack of sleep from last night to everyone, his brown hair was ruffled and he wore his gray t-shirt on the wrong side.

"How did you manage to look so stunning after last night?", the young seaman mumbled as he opened the fridge to take a bottle of milk out of it and set it on the kitchen counter next to Bomber, therefore stumbling into her in the process. He wrapped one arm around her waist and grabbed the edge of the counter with the other one to prevent them both from falling.

"´m sorry..."

"Wow, you really are a mess!"

She shook her head after she calmed down from the small shock of this sudden body contact and took the milk bottle from his hand as she saw how his shaking hands caused him to spill milk while trying to pour it in a glass.

"Let me do that, okay? How much did you drink last night?"

"I... I don´t know... To much."  
"Obviously", Bomber grinned and handed him the half filled glass,"but I am really curious about the tattoos you and Buffer got!"

Spider looked as if he had a hard time to remember what had happened this night, then he shook his head and said:"I... I did not get one myself... my mum would have killed me. I just told Buff that I was already finished when he woke up!"

"Well then..."

Suddenly, Buffer entered the galley, scratching himself at some point on his shoulder blade and Bomber wondered if he had heard anything, but he obviously had not because he looked calm as he greeted them and turned to Spider:"Spi, I was searching for you... concerning what we heard last night, I want to speak to the boss in a few minutes and I need you to accompany me, as you were there too."

"Ahm, yes, of course, just let me drink a coffee, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, I wanted to do something before that anyway. Bomb, can you do me a favor? My tattoo is killing me, could you take a look on it?"

"Of course", Bomber replied while she handed Spider a mug full of coffee, preventing him from making her galley untidy once again. "Let´s go to the wardroom!"

Spider suddenly remembered what he had done this night, he remembered the advice that he had given Pauly on the picture and he groaned to himself, slapping his free hand against his forehead.

* * *

"Okay, please take off your shirt so I can check it", Bomber ordered while she slipped on a pair of latex gloves from a box standing ready. "Spider and you really had a hard night, huh?"

"Yeah, kind of", Buffer answered while he leaned forward, supporting himself on the table in front of him while Bomber took the gauze dressings off. Her jaw nearly dropped as she saw the tattoo and she shot a unbelieving look at the back of Buffers head, then she cleared her throat and tried to act as normal as she could.

"Ahm... looks like it is slightly infected, I will put some antiseptics on it... and it is important that you don´t take the dressings off to touch it, that could make it worse. And no scratching!"

"I understand... but it´s a nice work, isn´t it? Pauly made that snake free-handed, he is a real artist."

"Yeah!", Bomber said quickly while she covered the tattoo again. "It looks nice! I am done!"

"Thank you, I owe you a drink!", Buffer smiled, grabbed his shirt and patted her on the shoulder before he left. Bomber cleaned the room up while she thought what she was going to do. Of course, grab Spider as soon as he was less wasted and also done with the talk that he would have with Buffer and the CO. She had always known that Spider liked to be a little bit naughty, he had learned it from the other guys on the ship, but she could not believe that he had actually done THIS, something that could cause heavy problems for a few persons on the ship. This was more a "prank" that could have come from 2Dads and the more she thought about this the more the hunch grew that it really must have been the idea of the electronics technician. Had it been a bet? Had Spider felt urged to agree to the idea because 2Dads had threatened him over something? It would not be the first time, she was sure about that.

* * *

Spider had waited outside of the wardroom for Buffer so they could walk to the CO´s cabin together.  
"Everything alright, Buff?"

"Yeah, just a little infection, nothing to worry about, mate. You have luck that yours is feeling okay, it would not have been a nice memory of your first tat."

Spider bravely tried to play his role and to make sure Buffer believed that he had also gotten a tattoo, so he gave the bosun a smirk and said:"Maybe my skin is more tolerant. Do you have your cell so we can show the pictures to the CO?"

"Yup, already put it on a USB stick and I wrote down the parts of the conversation that I do remember. I am already curious what the boss has to say about this."

"Feeling like a cop always was Swain´s part."

"That is the reason why I am the undercover agent!", Buffer grinned and nearly bumped into Nikki as they came past her cabin door which she just exited.

"Be careful, many of the woman that James Bond got laid were trying to kill him", she smirked with a playful look and a twinkle in her eye that only Buffer could notice.

"How are you feeling this morning, Nav? Anything wrong?", Buffer asked with a even brighter grin, completely forgetting about Spiders presence as he was concerned about Nikki once again, always the caring one and her mood seemed to lighten up during their playful flirting. She touched his arm for a small moment while she answered:"Nothing that would not be fixed with a cup of coffee and a few panadol."

"Enjoy your morning, Nav."

"I will and you too, Buffer", she smiled and headed towards the galley while Buffer and Spider continued their way to the cabin of the CO. Spider felt a comment burning on his tongue, but he luckily was able to withstand the impulse to say it out loud. He was still asking himself what was going on between Nav and Buffer as it was not possible to not see the looks that they exchanged, the small touches and foremost the smiles and questions and everything had just heavily increased since they had left Cairns after the shore leave. Had they...? He shook his head over this thought. Buffer and Nav were responsibly, they were not the type of people that would break the rules of the Navy on purpose. Nikki and ET had held their relationship in a gray zone until ET had left the ship and this lead the Seaman to the conclusion that he must have imagined some things. Nikki and ET had waited so long to be together, why would Nikki waste this... but even while he tried to push the obvious evidence away, he had to admit that he felt that Nikki and Buffer were flirting. Well, kind of. _Damn you, 2Dads_, he thought, just as Buffers knocking on the cabin door of the CO pulled him back into the reality.


	6. Chapter 6

So, here is the next chapter, once again a big thanks to Alimoo! :)

I hope you all enjoy this and if you do so, leave me a comment, I would be delighted by that! :)

* * *

"Good morning, Sir!", Buffer greeted the CO as they entered his cabin. Mike was seated at his desk, flipping through some papers.

"Morning, I hope you enjoyed your evening off!"

As the small cabin only had one chair Spider and Buffer stood by the wall opposite to Mike´s bed.

"You two wanted to talk to me?", Mike asked and closed the folder that he had been working on, fully turning his chair to face his sailors.

"Yes, Sir. We heard some things yesterday that woke our concerns... It seems like someone is planning a attack on the Malu Intruder."

"Malu Intruder? Where did you hear this name, Buffer?", Mike wondered and pointed on the folder. "The Malu Intruder is our next assignment, it is a nuclear waste ship that we will escort through these waters."

"We were on our way back to the ship when we eavesdropped a conversation between two men... Buffer wrote down the bits that he remembers and we also have a record. They mainly talked about attacking the Malu Intruder, but also about the navy not being a harm", Spider started to explain while Buffer produced a piece of paper out of the pocket of his uniform trousers. "We also took a look on the boxes they had been carrying and shot some photos. They were full of explosives, SEMTEX, Sir. The same that we found on the fishing vessel."

Buffer handed the paper and also the USB stick over to Mike and went on with talking:"They also had automatic weapons and something that looked like a bomb. And now that you said that we will be the escort for the Malu Intruder I am sure that they will attack us too. I suggest that we radio the Malu so that they can search the boat for any explosives."

"What would help them is the knowledge that it could be in a box with paper towels", Spider pointed out as Mike reached the photo of the bomb. "It is likely that they will hide it inside this."

"Good idea, Buffer", Mike said while he clicked through the pictures on his laptop, then they listened to the recording that Buffer had done. "This looks really suspicious. I will talk to NAVCOM about this, I am sure they will be as interested in this as I am! We need to act fast on this one."

Suddenly, the telephone next to Mike´s desk rang and he hurried to pick up after apologizing to Buffer and Spider.

"Yeah? Ah, Nav, okay... Yes, please put them through! Buffer, Spider, I am sorry, this is the local police. Buffer, could you go to the bridge and radio the captain of the Malu Intruder and tell him to search the boat for anything. They left the port at 7 am, so it could be possible that something came aboard, hidden in the supplies or maybe through a crew member."

"Yes Sir, I will", Buffer nodded and they left the cabin. Kate was coming down the hallway, wearing black sweatpants and a gray oversized navy sweater, her hair being summoned in two braids. Her outfit and her pale skin definitely showed off that she was still feeling sick. She gave them a weak smile and a nod as they respectfully greeted her before she went into the cabin of the CO. Just as they had closed the door behind them, Spider said:"That was a short meeting."

"I already figured out that we would not need much to convince the boss, our evidence is more then clear. I need to go to the bridge, see you later!"

"Sure", Spider answered and looked after the bosun before he turned. His heart stopped for a second in shock as Bomber was suddenly standing in front of him, hands on her hips.

* * *

Mike was still talking on the phone when Kate entered. She quietly sat down on Mike´s bunk, watching his concerned expression while he listened to his conversation partner.

"Thank you, officer. I will call you as soon as we have organized everything."

"Something wrong?", Kate asked as he had ended the call and covered his eyes with the palm of his hand.

"You won´t believe this. I had to ask twice to be sure that this is not a hoax! Robert has been arrested last night."

"What?!"

Kate stared at him, not able to believe what he was saying, but he nodded confirming and came to sit next to her.

"What did he do? I can´t imagine Robert doing anything that would be against the law!"

"He drove a golf cart through a tourist resort. So, this would be vandalism and additionally he was extremely drunk. He has been in prison over night. However, our biggest problem is to get him out there, the damage repay is clearly over the limits of money that we have aboard, but they won´t release him without getting the money."

"Damn it", Kate hissed, shaking her head in disbelief. "This just doesn´t sound like a thing that RO would do... On the other hand, if he was drunk..."

"We will worry about the 'Why' later, I have to gather the crew, we need to get the money as soon as possible, we have a assignment. Another question: Why are you not in your bed?"

"I am boored...", Kate pouted like a child and gave him her best puppy dog eyes. "I feel so useless, couldn´t you give me something to work on? I will not do to much, I swear."

Mike felt his heart melt over Kate´s expression, but also about her looks – the braids made her look even more cute. He wrapped one arm around her shoulder and she leaned in, putting her head on his shoulder with a sigh, but did not stop to look at him begging. Mike groaned, then he stood up, taking his laptop and the folder from his desk and put it in front of her – he simply could not refuse anything to Kate, she was able to wrap him around her finger within a second.

"So, in the folder there are the information´s about our new assignment and on my laptop are photos and recordings of a suspicious conversation that Buffer and Spider eavesdropped on last night. It is possible that a attack is planned, maybe they already brought a bomb aboard the Malu Intruder. Oh, and our supply list, make sure that it is correct and that it is picked up by Buffer before 10 am, okay?"

She nodded, glad that she had something to do. She would have gone insane if she had to lie in her bed for only one more hour.

"Good, I will go and inform the crew about Robert now... Oh, and Kate, promise me to take a break if you feel that it is to much!"

She smiled at him and assured him:"I will do as you wish, Sir! Now go, we don´t have time to waste!"

Mike chuckled lightly and could not stop himself from giving her a short kiss on the hair and then, as he shot a last glance at her, he recognized the sweatshirt that she was wearing as one of his. He had to give a lot of energy to prevent the smile from staying on his face permanently.

* * *

"Spider, do you have a spare minute? I need to talk to you. Now!", Bomber said in a tone that did not allow any contradiction, so Spider followed her into the wardroom that would allow them the right amount of privacy.

"So, Spider, you said that you don´t remember much from last night... I want you to think hardly, what did you do about Buffers tattoo?"

"Bomb, I don´t know what you are talking about?", Spider wondered, but he shut his mouth as he saw the glare in her eyes, feeling guilt overwhelming him because he had tried to lie to her. She drilled one finger into his forehead and hissed:"Think. Think!"

"Okay, okay then... I... I guess I did bribe Pauly so that he would... that he would change the picture slightly... It was a joke..."

"A joke, Spider? Oh come on, grow up! This is not some prank that everyone will smirk on a few days later, this can ruin careers! I never thought that you would be so mindless! This is more something of 2Dads kind!"

She saw how his eyes, that had been wandering around the room, suddenly fluttered to look at her as she mentioned 2Dads and Bomber held her breath for a few seconds as she realized that she was right.

"Oh no, Spider, please, tell me that I am just having a random idea! Please, don´t tell me that it was some sort of a stupid bet!", she hissed, staring him down once again and Spider felt like a kid that had destroyed the favorite piece of china of its mother. He knew that it had been wrong, more then wrong, but he had not seen any other way anymore, 2Dads had literally dragged him into a corner from which he had not been able to escape.

"I don´t think that I like your silence!"

"I... I am... so s-sorry, Bomb", Spider stuttered and drove one hand through his dark hair, thinking about a possible way to get around the real reason why 2Dads had been able to convince him to take up this stupid bet. "He just..."

Her death glare scared him and he hurried to add:"Okay, okay, he has something to use against me and he said if I don´t do what he has in mind he would tell everyone on the goddamn Hammersley about this!"

"And that would be?!"

"Don´t you understand that if I am doing things like the one with Buffers tattoo to keep 2Dads' mouth shut I would like to keep the information he has away from _anybody_ here?!", Spider hissed, desperately rowing against a current that was dragging him into waters that he did wanted to sail, but not like this. Bomber crossed her arms in front of her chest and said:"No, I do not understand this right now! Buffers career, Navs career and their friendship are threatened if anyone else sees this part of Buffers body! And if they find out, especially if Nikki is getting angry, you. Are. _Screwed_!"

"Bomb, you won´t tell them about this?! And please, stop asking about the reason why 2Dads was able to get me into this", Spider worried, trying to dry his sweaty hands on his pants. Bombers observing eyes were making him even more nervous, that was obvious to her as she saw how his breath quickened a little bit and his hands began to shake just a little bit.

"Hey Spi, calm down! No need to jump through windows!"

Her gentle touch on his upper arm made him calm down a little bit and he shot her a thankful look as she sighed:"Okay, let´s forget the 'Why' for now, we just have to prevent a disaster..."

"And how?", he mumbled curiously. "I mean, we can´t glue the shirt to Buffers body. Or can we?"

Bomber had to admit that she did not have any idea. They could win time by telling Buffer that he had to leave the gauze over the tat, but soon Swain himself would like to take a look on the slight infection and that would be the end. Swain had a loose mouth and Buffers tattoo would be enough to make him run around the whole ship screaming the news out. They did not had any more time to think about their problem as the voice of the CO resounded through the ship:"All crew muster boat deck, all crew muster boat deck!"


End file.
